


A Slow Day at Work

by justagayarmin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Burgers - Freeform, Cute, Fluff, M/M, No Angst, No Plot, No Porn, Volleyball, burger joint, kageyama has a job, maybe a one shot, poor awkward kageyama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-18 23:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5947252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justagayarmin/pseuds/justagayarmin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today had been an excruciatingly slow work day, and it didn’t look like anyone else was going to show up. Going outside for a toss or two with Mr. Orange Sherbet wouldn’t be the end of the world…right?<br/>What was the worst that could happen?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Slow Day at Work

**Author's Note:**

> Heeey, I said I was gonna write this months ago whoops sorry  
> Anyways, I love kagehina so much it is my favorite ship honestly, and I'm in love with awkward Kageyama tripping his way through feelings  
> And that's basically what this is, awkward Kageyama with awkward feelings  
> So enjoy!

_Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock._

The unrelenting sound of a clock droning on and on grated on his ears. The constant whirring of machines in the back blended into background noise. And really, he hardly noticed unless he was actively trying to listen for it. The occasional sniffle that came from the cashier seemed a thousand times louder when he was the only one working today.

A loud, frustrated sigh escaped the man standing behind the counter. He slumped down onto the smooth surface, resting his head heavily on one hand. He looked down at the circles of light reflected onto it from the ones hanging above. Slowly, he traced the shapes with his eyes until his hair fell in front of him. He blew at it harshly, and for a moment his vision was freed from its raven-colored prison. But not even a second later, it was back to shielding his eyes again.

Yep. It was official.

Kageyama was _bored out of his damn mind._

Work at the Crow’s Nest had never been terribly busy, but the shop always had three or four customers at all times. Today however, it seemed like everyone had vanished in the span of 24 hours, leaving only him and the people on the motivational posters that hung on the walls. He’d lost track of how many times he’d read those shitty quotes attached to smiling strangers. Over the hours, Kageyama had even given them names, like Bridgette, and Karen, and Steve.

He liked Steve the best because he had a cool shirt with pineapples printed on it.

Pulling his eyes away from the posters _again,_ he stared outside where the sky was blue and the sun was beating down onto the concrete. It was a relatively nice day to practice some serves or spikes or _something_ other than stand in this stuffy restaurant. Even with the front door open and a tiny portable fan, he could feel a drop of sweat creep down his spine.

Kageyama had only gotten this job because he’d really needed the money. That, and his mom had chided him about spending all day practicing volleyball; something he _actually_ enjoyed. ‘You don’t plan on doing volleyball for the rest of your life, do you?’ she had asked, and of course Kageyama was confused. Why _wouldn’t_ he? Playing in the Nationals…it was something he’d always dreamed of doing one day, standing on the same court that thousands of other incredibly strong teams played on.

It seemed obvious to him that he would keep playing well into his adult years, but his mother wouldn’t accept the answer. ‘At least go get a job, just in case, alright?’ she begged, and though he wasn’t happy about not being able to play as much as he’d liked, he promised he would give it a try. Besides, it was only temporary until school started up again. Then he could quit and set as many volleyballs as he wanted.

Though, he did feel like there was something missing. Someone to make him shine on the court, someone whose abilities he could bring out to the max, and blow past anyone who stood in their way.

Someone like...

“Hello?”

Kageyama’s thoughts were interrupted by a new customer’s voice. Sitting up slowly, he blinked himself back to the present.

At first, he squinted at the sudden brightness that assaulted his tired eyes. He’d thought that the sun had gone down enough to the point where it covered the room with afternoon light, but after a while he figured out it was just his _hair_. It was obnoxiously bright orange, and strayed in all directions as if he had the world’s worst case of bed head.

A twirling motion caught his eyes, and he looked down to investigate what was in the stranger’s hands. Kageyama felt something akin to excitement twist in his stomach when he recognized it. _A volleyball…!_

Kageyama’s heart sped up at the familiar sight, but he tried his best to keep his face neutral. Though if this guy had one on him, that probably meant he played somewhere, right? Maybe he was even on a team.

What school did he go to? What position did he play? He was tiny, probably 160cm tall, so maybe a libero…?

Questions and curiosity continued to manifest inside of him, and he only pulled his eyes away when the man in front of him cleared his throat.

“Can you…take my order? Please?” he asked hesitantly, his hands still spinning the ball.

Kageyama was reminded that he was still working, and his job was to provide the customer with what they asked for.

Squeezing the counter once, he moved to the side and lifted up a slender hand over the register. “Sorry. What would you like?”

After taking his order and his money, the small orange ball hurried back into one of the booths, leaving the cashier to make his food.

He always hated doing this. The machines made the room way too stuffy and hot, and everything took forever to cook. Not to mention the guy ordered enough food for himself and a small family. Did he seriously plan on eating all of it himself? There was no way that tiny body could fit the mountain of calories he'd ordered all inside of his stomach.

After about 15 minutes of cooking and preparing, Kageyama had finally finished his order. Placing it on the tray, he proceeded to recite it; “One triple patty bacon cheese burger, one order of tater tots, one order of waffle fries, and a large strawberry milkshake.”

The stranger bounced up to the counter, and took the tray from the tall cashier. “Thanks!”

As soon as he slid back into his seat, Kageyama watched him admire his fresh food, his brown eyes practically sparkling.

 _Relatable._ Kageyama couldn't remember the last time he’d eaten, and now that he was reminded of his hunger he could hear his stomach rumbling in protest. He wasn’t off the clock for a few more hours though, and he knew the cameras would catch him if he whipped up something for himself.

Sighing, he went back to leaning his head on his hand and looked at the motivational posters once again. But for some reason, both his eyes and mind were drawn back to the bright-haired customer.

His cheeks were stuffed full of food, like some kind of squirrel or something, but he still looked as happy as he was when he got the stuff. And it was already halfway gone! Not even Kageyama could scarf down food like that without choking. Most of him was shocked and disgusted that he could manage to inhale it all, but there was a small piece of him that was oddly amazed as well.

This guy just _loved_ giving him conflicting feelings, didn't he?

Maybe Kageyama was so focused on him because he was the first interesting thing to appear all day? Today he had been bored out of his mind, and he’d just latched onto the first thing that caught his attention. Plus, he had a volleyball. It should come as no surprise that his mind keeps drifting to the person holding what he loved.

That’s what he told himself as he continued to observe the stranger’s features.

It was hard to tell from behind the counter, but if he squinted Kageyama could make out a small button nose decorated with ketchup. He wanted to say something to him, or grab a napkin to swipe it off really quick. But that would mean revealing that he’d been staring long enough to notice it, and he would rather die. And call it instinct, but he was pretty sure Mr. Strawberry Milkshake wouldn’t take too kindly to a stranger touching his face.

And every time he took another bite of his burger, or a handful of fries, or a monstrous gulp of his drink, he let out an excited noise as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted. A grin painted his features the entire time, and if he was being honest with himself, it was all kind of…cute?

Without any warning, the small stranger stood from his booth, startling Kageyama out of his daze. After an alarmingly short amount of time, the only customer inside Crow’s Nest was emptying his tray at the garbage near the door, and about to leave. Something similar to panic shot through his stomach for a moment. He was going to be alone again in this boring-ass fast food place, with nothing but Steve and Bridgette and Karen to keep him company.

Kageyama watched him slurp down the last of his milkshake before disposing of that too. And before he could call out to the orange-haired stranger, to ask for his name or which school he went to or _something,_ he was slipping out the front door and out of his life. Okay, he may have been being a bit dramatic, but he _really_ didn’t want to go back to doing nothing for several hours.

But he couldn’t do anything to stop it from happening. With his words stuck in the back of his throat and his shyness overriding everything else, he watched him leave.

Sadness, loneliness, and regret all hit him for a moment, and for a second he was met with confusion too. Why was he so upset because of a stranger he had ignored the first 5 minutes he was here, and then proceeded to do nothing but stare at him? He didn’t know him at all, but a corner of his heart whispered that he wanted to.

When one thought about how he was acting and feeling _objectively_ , Kageyama appeared pretty creepy. But there was something about this stranger that stood out aside from his hair or sunny smile. He had no idea what it was, but there was some part of Kageyama that wanted to get closer to him.

A flash of orange caught his eye, and his gaze was drawn to the outside. When he squinted to get a closer look, he saw a volleyball go flying into the air. Kageyama watched it soar up several feet above him and then come back down into the stranger’s hands, only to leave once they brushed his fingertips.

The guy was tossing to himself outside the store. And Kageyama _really_ wanted to join him.

But…would it be okay for him to? Orange Sunshine didn’t even know who he was, and when he thought about it he didn’t know him either. His fluffy exterior could be masking a serial killer for all he knew, and here he was trying to befriend him.

That’s what it came down to, when he thought about it. He _really wanted_ to be that guy’s friend, which was more than he could say about the other strangers he’d met. And they both played volleyball, which was a must if he was going to try and become friends, or pals, or whatever with this guy.

Today had been an excruciatingly slow work day, and it didn’t look like anyone else was going to show up. Going outside for a toss or two with Mr. Orange Sherbet wouldn’t be the end of the world…right?

What was the worst that could happen?

He could become even more uncomfortable around him than he already was, or he could think of him as a stalker, or he could call the police on him…Again, the last one was pretty dramatic, but in Kageyama’s mind anything was possible.

Looking at the clock and watching the seconds tick by for a whole minute, Kageyama finally took a deep breath and steeled himself to go outside.

The stranger hadn’t noticed him yet, still setting to himself while watching the ball with extreme focus. He hadn’t noticed before, but small, faded clouds of freckles decorated his cheeks. A part of him wondered if they were hereditary or if he got them from playing in the sun for too long.

Surprisingly, the stranger’s hands missed the ball entirely and it ended up hitting him on top of the head. Kageyama held back a snort, and he watched as the orange-haired man grabbed it from where it rolled into the street

And then _shorty_ was staring at _Kageyama_.

Blinking at this unexpected development, he looked anywhere except at the person in front of him. Eventually he settled on the volleyball in his hands.

“I missed my toss because your angry staring was distracting me.”

The statement surprised him, and he tried to will down the embarrassment flooding into his cheeks. Scowling at the ball, he still avoided eye-contact. “I wasn’t being angry.”

“But you’ve been glaring at me ever since I got here!” he protested, and his words finally made him look up at the customer.

“I’m not—I wasn’t—” he denied, feeling rather irritated. This time he couldn’t deny the way his eyebrows furrowed, and it only served to add more fuel to the fire.

The orange fluff ball tilted his head to the side, one brown eyebrow raised. “Then do you need something from me?”

Shit, this was it. This was probably the only shot, the only opportunity Kageyama had at telling him he wanted to play volleyball with him, and maybe see him again after this.

He straightened his back, and looked down at the brown eyed stranger.

“Give me the ball.”

He wished he could take back the words as soon as he said them.

He looked like he was about to fight him, one hand extended in a karate chop and the other protecting his precious volleyball. If he could growl, he probably would be, and Kageyama couldn’t find it the least bit threatening.

“Wh—What do you mean?! I didn’t play inside, and I didn’t hit the store, and this is _my volleyball_ so what’s your—”

Grabbing the ball from his tiny hands, Kageyama held it above his head where he couldn’t reach. “Dumbass! What I’m trying to say is I want to…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was met with the stranger again, but suddenly he was a lot taller. No, he _jumped_ , he jumped that high up just to get the ball back from him and is _still climbing in height_.

“Play…volleyball with…you.” He finished, still dumbfounded by what he just witnessed. How the hell did that shorty jump that high? Were his legs made of _springs_ or something?

Mr. Orange Popsicle wiped away his victorious expression, replacing it with a surprised one. He stood tall and looked up at Kageyama. “You play too? What position?” he wondered.

“Setter.” Kageyama replied. He’d been one as long as he could remember, and he loved doing it. It was the coolest position out of them all in volleyball. “What are you?”

“I’m a Middle Blocker!” He stated proudly, and he must not have been able to hide his surprise because he was soon greeted with a scowl. “What, just because of my height did you think I was a libero or something?”

 _Yes._ “No, not really.”

Still, he continued to defend himself. “I may be small, but I can jump. And with that, I can fight against any wall that stands in my way!” he shouted, and Kageyama’s eyes widened at his determination.

_What a strange kid..._

The two of them set the ball to each other back and forth for a bit. Occasionally, they would have to bump it if it was too low, and sometimes it would roll out into the street. Luckily, not many were around, so they were never in any danger of hurting the ball or themselves.

At one point the sort-of-not stranger suggested they start doing spikes, since they had a setter and him around. Kageyama punched him in the arm for suggesting something so stupid. There was no room for them to, no net, the ball would go flying far away from them, and he didn’t believe that he could match his toss just yet.

His old teammates had told him that his tosses were impossible to hit, but maybe someday and with _him…_

He was just the type of person he wanted to play matches with. Someone who was driven, someone who was willing to take on a challenge, someone whose abilities he could bring out to the fullest.

Just as the two of them were really getting a good feel for the ball, a couple walked into the Crow’s Nest, looking around for someone to take their orders. Kageyama caught the ball he was about to set and peeked into the establishment. He assured them he would be there in a second, and they nodded.

Kageyama turned back to shorty. He observed that without the volleyball in his hands to twirl, he had no choice but to fiddle with the hem of his loose tank top. Kageyama noticed it said “I got 99 problems but a block ain’t one” in all caps on the front, and he silently approved of it.

“So…can we do this again?” The middle blocker requested, and internally the tall cashier was grateful that he had asked before he could fuck things up again.

Kageyama let his shoulders relax for a moment. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

Mr. Sunshine Hair’s relief was much more visible than his own, and Kageyama was starting to think that was just the way he was. Not that he minded, since he didn’t have to guess much as to what he was thinking, and it _was_ kind of cute…

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow! Uh…” he stopped, and the tall setter realized they’d never exchanged names the entire time they'd been talking.

“It's Kageyama. Kageyama Tobio.” He replied, tossing the volleyball back to its owner.

He caught it with ease, and flashed him a smile warmer than the sun around them. “I’m Hinata Shouyou. Nice to meet you, Kageyama!”

The dark-haired man didn’t know what it was about Hinata, but it was like he was surrounded by a feeling that he didn’t know how to identify. It was warm, and fuzzy, and honestly it made Kageyama feel kind of nauseous.

Swallowing thickly, he gave Hinata a delayed nod. “Y-Yeah. You too.”

Standing in front of him, he felt almost frozen where he stood. But that couldn’t be when he felt this warm. This unexplainable heat must have been from playing volleyball in the sun.

Yeah, that was all it was.

Hinata pointed behind him, and easily gave him a lopsided smile. “Are you going to go take their orders? Or are you just going to stand here all day?”

Well, that got him moving. Cursing to himself, he waved goodbye to his new friend, pal, chum, acquaintance, _thing_ , and hurried inside. He’d worry about titles later when he actually had time to.

He wasn’t sure if Hinata waved back or not, since he was too busy apologizing to the hungry customers. Fortunately, they were pretty understanding, and he wiped the sweat from his brow before washing his hands.

 

Kageyama went back to work with a small, relaxed smile on his face.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was that, my first kagehina fic! Thanks for reading, and as always, leave me kudos or a comment and let me know what you thought of it. I'm always really happy when you guys leave me comments!  
> I'm not sure if I want this to be a multi-chapter fic...what do you think?  
> And I do have a [tumblr](http://www.kagayama--tobio.tumblr.com) so come follow me or send me a message or an ask! I seriously love being able to talk to you guys  
> I'll see you guys soon, maybe! <3


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